It has agreed to pay $103 million to settle claims it overcharged for some wholesale medicines in the United States, U. K. drug giant AstraZeneca has said.

The Washington Post has reported that while settling a class-action suit, the drug-maker defended its pricing and marketing practices as lawful.

The suit alleged AstraZeneca inflated the average wholesale price of costly prescription drugs in the country.

The company denies any liability or wrongdoing but saw the settlement as the best way to resolve the case and focus on its business, AstraZeneca spokesman Tony Jewell said on Friday.

Jewell also said, "AstraZeneca is committed to adhering to all government laws and regulations concerning drug pricing, including the proper reporting of drug pricing, as required by law."

The settlement of the lawsuit, originally filed in 2002 over the price of the company's cancer drug Zoladex, needs court approval, the Post further added. (With inputs from Agencies)